Aftermarket bed light questions

[Okie22]

I have a 22 BH 1500 w/o the OEM bed lights so I decided to install an aftermarket LED bed light kit after reading most don't like the subpar performance of the OEM kit.

My initial plan was to tap into the tailgate handle light and have them come on that way. That did not work (at least the way I tapped into the existing wiring at the light did not work)

My next plan was to install this as a standalone that gets its power from a constant 12v source and cycle it on/off with a switch. I T-tapped into the red/hot wire on the back of the 7-pin but there is no power there (?), which is concerning since I traded up to this truck to pull our travel trailer. Since there was no power, I ran a wire straight to the pos side of the batt to ops check the wiring. After fumbling around, I was able to get it to work but the hot wire gets very warm (disconnected until I figure this out).

My questions are, why is there no power to the red/hot wire on the 7-pin? Interestingly, I hooked up the trailer last week to reset our WDH and everything seemed to work fine. Is there another constant power source to tap into closer to the back of the truck? Or, can I simply tap into the tan/white and vio/white wires and have these function the same as OEM? And if so, which wire/s from the LEDs get tapped?

This simple project is kicking my a** way more than it should

 

[jimothy]

I have a 22 BH 1500 w/o the OEM bed lights so I decided to install an aftermarket LED bed light kit after reading most don't like the subpar performance of the OEM kit.

My initial plan was to tap into the tailgate handle light and have them come on that way. That did not work (at least the way I tapped into the existing wiring at the light did not work)

My next plan was to install this as a standalone that gets its power from a constant 12v source and cycle it on/off with a switch. I T-tapped into the red/hot wire on the back of the 7-pin but there is no power there (?), which is concerning since I traded up to this truck to pull our travel trailer. Since there was no power, I ran a wire straight to the pos side of the batt to ops check the wiring. After fumbling around, I was able to get it to work but the hot wire gets very warm (disconnected until I figure this out).

My questions are, why is there no power to the red/hot wire on the 7-pin? Interestingly, I hooked up the trailer last week to reset our WDH and everything seemed to work fine. Is there another constant power source to tap into closer to the back of the truck? Or, can I simply tap into the tan/white and vio/white wires and have these function the same as OEM? And if so, which wire/s from the LEDs get tapped?

This simple project is kicking my a** way more than it should

My truck is a 2021, so there is no tailgate handle light, but I tapped into the OEM bed lights with no issue. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, the easiest way to get to that wiring is by removing one taillight (I did the driver side). This worked with no issue. Alas, but truck is currently at the dealer, so I couldn’t tell you what wires I tapped into, but it was pretty obvious at the time (they were probably red and black).

 

[Okie22]

My truck is a 2021, so there is no tailgate handle light, but I tapped into the OEM bed lights with no issue. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, the easiest way to get to that wiring is by removing one taillight (I did the driver side). This worked with no issue. Alas, but truck is currently at the dealer, so I couldn’t tell you what wires I tapped into, but it was pretty obvious at the time (they were probably red and black).

Did yours have the OEM lights installed?

 

[jimothy]

Did yours have the OEM lights installed?

Yes.

 

[Okie22]

Update:

The 30 amp fuse was blown for the 12v wire on the 7-pin. Changed it, tapped into that wire and all works.

It's the simple things

 

[MikeyHo808]

Same thing for me. Blew the fuse and spent hours chasing it. Glad it worked out. The OEM lights to me aren’t worth it. Paid 30 bucks for 60 inch LED strips from Scamazon. Worked so good, bought a second set for my running boards.